Book notes: Silver Nitrate

By Silvia Moreno-Garcia.

Recommended by the New York Times as a top 10 horror book of 2023.

I came across this book as part of a systemic effort to read books from different fictional/nonfiction categories. This was from fictional horror. The last time I read a horror book was from a Stephen King phase in high school.

This book wasn’t what I was expecting. I was hoping to “feel the shivers” as Frog said to Toad about the Old Dark Frog. There was a thrilling moment to start the book, a couple of thrilling moments halfway through the book, and sorcerer-battle in the last 50 pages, kind of like in Harry Potter when he fights the monster at the end of each book, but otherwise it read like normal fiction. No shivers :-(. There are many detailed references to the genre of horror, especially really old horror movies. Maybe that’s how this book ended up in the horror section?

Instead this felt like regular fiction/romance: Montesserat and Tristán are friends, she is moderately attractive (her face has “nice angles”), he has TV star good looks, they are in their late 30s, she has always loved him, he relies on her as his rock but dates other women. Will they ever get together? It feels similar in relationship dynamics to a fiction book I read last year called “The People We Meet on Vacation” (My notes here).

Silver Nitrate was used as film stock in old movies. The book talks about technologies of how old films are made and dubbed. Interesting fact: Silver Nitrate is really flammable. In this story someone put a spell on a silver-nitrate based movie that our protagonists get caught up in.

One trick you can use to prevent magical people from following you is to toss some nails behind you. (The nails may need to be charmed first.) They did this several times, sometimes while driving! It appeared to work, but at what cost to the safety of the community? Someone could step on one or get a flat tire. The magical community should research safer alternatives, hopefully something biodegradable.

I’ll have to try again on the horror genre because for me this didn’t count. I blame the reviewer at the New York Times, not the author. This book was otherwise well-conceived and executed. At 317 pages it read very quickly. If you are interested in very old horror movies, the process of how old film and film audio are put together, locations in Mexico City, magic, and a fun “will they get together” story, this book is for you!